Banned from driving until 2041: man in jail after crime spree ends in car crash

By
FAIRFAX MEDIA

A man who was banned from driving until 2041 drove at 186 km/h on the Northern Distributor and 157 km/h on the Mitchell Highway

JAIL TIME: Cal Thomas McKellar pleaded guilty to a string of offences including drive while disqualified, larceny, engage in a police pursuit, drive dangerously and having goods suspected of being stolen.

A MAN who was banned from driving until 2041 drove at 186 km/h on the Northern Distributor and 157 km/h on the Mitchell Highway before crashing his car near Cashen’s Lane and committing a string of robberies.

He did not bother to apply for bail in Orange Local Court on Friday.

Cal Thomas McKellar pleaded guilty to a string of offences including drive while disqualified, larceny, engage in a police pursuit, drive dangerously and having goods suspected of being stolen.

The crime spree started in Spring Hill on Thursday, May 30, when police officers saw McKellar’s car stopped in the middle of the street, its headlights turned off, before it sped away.

He later told police “I got no licence, I put my foot straight down.” Police attempted to engage the car in a pursuit multiple times, but had to abandon the chases.

Thirty-two-year-old McKellar was on bail at the time for an alleged aggravated break and enter and told police he was travelling from Bourke, where he was bailed, to Bathurst to visit relatives.

He had been declared a habitual offender and had a significant criminal history dating back more than a decade, according to police.

On Thursday, McKellar drove from Dubbo to Orange after he had taken one gram of methylamphetamine or “ice”.

He was last seen at 11.11pm on the Northern Distributor travelling at about 180 km/h.

During the night he crashed the vehicle, found a farmhouse, broke in and sheltered from the cold.

At 1.54am the occupants of the home called the police, but officers were unable to locate McKellar. They found his crashed, abandoned car at 7.30am on Saturday May 31, 30 metres off the road.

Later that morning police were patrolling Byng Street after reports of a string of break and enters, when they spotted McKellar in the PCYC car park.

He fled on foot and scaled a fence but eventually police caught up with him and found he had a stolen Seiko watch, a memory card and a USB.